Why should I pay for these BID services – what do I pay business rates for?
Business rates are a national tax which Croydon Council collects on behalf of central government.  Central government then determines how this money is distributed throughout the rest of the country.  Every £1 of the BID levy collected by the Council is transferred directly to Croydon Town Centre BID to be spent as directed by the levy-paying businesses.  The BID levy will not fund any projects outside the BID boundary.

How will you ensure that the Council does not reduce its level of service?
Detailed “baseline” agreements have been drawn up and signed between the Council and Croydon Town Centre BID.  These baseline agreements ensure that the current Council services and budget allocations cannot be withdrawn from the BID area.  The BID team works closely with the Council to encourage better use of current and future statutory resources. Any services provided by Croydon Town Centre BID are in addition to those provided by the Council. The baseline agreement document is available in the ‘downloads’ section of this website.

We do believe the area should be improved, but how do we have our say?
BIDs are business-led organisations that are only created if there is a genuine business interest and commitment.  BIDs have to demonstrate a business case that delivers tangible improvements and should ideally focus on a range of services, some of which enhance existing services and others that are new services not provided by the public sector. 

Croydon Town Centre BID carried out a survey with all eligible businesses to determine business priorities for Central Croydon.  The results from this survey informed the drafting of the BID Proposal. Croydon Town Centre businesses will be engaged through future consultations and at the AGM. The Consultation Results document is available in the ‘downloads’ section of this website.

How do we know the money will be well spent?
The operating procedures are set out in the BID proposal which was voted on and also in the Operating Agreement.  Both documents are available as downloads from this website.  Croydon Town Centre BID is a not-for-profit Company Limited by Guarantee.  The BID Company is run by a small team of staff and a Board consisting of representatives from the business community, not-for-profit and public sector within the BID area.  The BID Company operates in a transparent way and reports progress and performance to the levy-payers regularly through the newsletter, annual report and other means to ensure that it is delivering what is expected.